Nearly six Americans killed themselves every hour last year, data suggests — as suicide rates in the US remained near their highest level in the nation’s history.
Provisional data from the CDC showed 49,300 deaths by suicide were recorded in 2023, similar to the 49,500 registered the year before — one of the highest numbers on record.
A full report published today on suicide data from 2022, the latest year for which there are complete numbers, shows a five percent rise in suicides among middle-aged women over a year — the group most likely to die by suicide among women.
And a four percent rise among men over 75 years old, who are also most likely to die by suicide among their sex.
While the number of suicides remained steady from 2022 to 2023, it was generally on the rise and was up 20 percent from a decade ago and double the number from two decades ago.
Suicide rates in the US have been increasing for nearly 20 years, aside from a two-year drop at the start of the Covid pandemic, with experts saying today’s figures may be ‘cautiously promising’ as they suggest suicides are no longer rising.
The above graph shows the suicide rate in the US compared to that in other countries up to the year 2021. It was prepared by Oxford University’s Our World In Data
Among those to die by suicide in 2023 was mother-of-two Heather Armstrong, who was famous as a blogger for parents
The US has one of the highest suicide rates out of western nations at 14.2 suicides per 100,000 people in 2022.
This outpaced the rate in England and Wales (10.7 per 100,000 people), Australia (12.3), and Germany (12.1)
But was below that of Japan’s 15 suicides per 100,000 people. The country historically has seen an elevated rate of people taking their own lives.
Suicide is currently the 11th leading cause of death in the US, statistics suggest.
By age group, men accounted for three to four times more suicides than women in 2022 — the new report found.
The group most likely to die by suicide was men aged 75 years and older, which had a rate of 44 suicides per 100,000 people.
Among women, those aged 45 to 64 years old had the highest rate, at 8.6 suicides per 100,000.
Experts warn the reasons for suicide are often ‘complicated’ and that attempts can be driven by a range of factors.
Contributors include depression, limited availability of mental health services, and the availability of guns.
Estimates suggest 57.8million people in the US suffer from mental health issues every year, with 21million struggling with depression.
The above graph shows suicide rates in the US over time. It highlights how rates among men are three to four times those among women
The above shows suicide rates by age group over time among US women
The above shows suicide rates by age group among US men
Dr Katherine Keyes, a public health professor at Columbia University, cautiously welcomed the results saying a ‘leveling off of any increase in suicide is cautiously promising news.’
The US has now had a national crisis line allowing anyone to dial 988 to reach a mental health specialist for two years, which Dr Keyes said may now be starting to pay off.
Among those to die by suicide last year was mother-of-two Heather Armstrong, a Utah-based content creator who earned the title the ‘queen of mommy bloggers.’
The 47-year-old built a lucrative online career writing about the unspoken realities of motherhood and the struggles of her two kids, her husband and her mental health.
Her partner of six years Pete Ashdown spent months after her death in May 2023 trying to piece together how it happened.
‘Losing Heather is the hardest thing I’ve ever had to go through,’ he told ABC News. ‘The mental torture I have gone through, wondering if I could have done something to prevent this outcome.
‘When you lose somebody to suicide, you turn into somewhat of an investigator trying to figure out all of the confluences that came together to cause a person to do such a thing.’
- For help and support call the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline on 988
